The Mockingjay Means Regret
by marthasusansharp
Summary: Re-telling Mockingjay with Madelyn instead of Katniss and Anthone instead of Peeeta. Madelyn is captured by the Capitol and hijacked - only then does Anthone realise how much she meant to him. Rated T, may change to M later to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

Here's a briefing of the story before Mockingjay:

Madelyn Sharp volunteered for her sister Prim in the 74th Hunger Games and Anthone Vault was reaped. Madelyn loved Anthone, but for Anthone it was all a game and he had no real feelings for her. Their behaviour in the arena sent sparks flying.  
These sparks set fire to some Districts, who viewed the nightlock as an act of rebellion. To calm the uprisings, they sent the star-crossed lovers of District 12 back into the arena and to certain death. Only in the arena, under the stars, did Anthone begin to realise that he had feelings for Madelyn.  
District 13 collectec Anthone and most of the other victors, leaving Madelyn, Johanna and Annie to the Capitol. There Madelyn will be tortured, hijacked, broken. Can she find her way back to Anthone before he gives up on love?

(Re-telling of Mockingjay with Anthone and Madelyn instead of Peeta and Katniss, and a couple of things switched around.)

Anthone's POV:

I stare down at my boots in misery. _Where are you Madelyn? What are they doing to you? Please, Mad, just hold on._ But I can feel her despair even thousands of miles away.  
District 12 is in pieces. Four weeks ago the Capitol's firebombs destroyed The Seam - where Madelyn grew up, the bakery where I lived, and even our Justice Building. Just the Victor's Village remains, grass green and flowers fresh, as if nothing had ever happened. Perhaps so that Capitol people forced to visit, perhaps assessing the condition of the mines, would have a house to stay in instead of a tent. Whatever the reason, it's a slap in the face.  
Slap in the face. I remember how my cheek stung when Madelyn slapped me. I guess she really did love me, and I was stupid then. Only now, when she is gone, do I realise how much I love her. Has she given up on me? I think so - I would've. Slowly, I begin to cry.  
"Do you want me to come down Anthone?" my friend Rosa asks through the headset. She's watching my every move from a silent hovercraft above, and I realise how mad I must look. On the verge of breakdown - curled into the wall, crying, knees tucked up to my face. This can't be seen, not when I'm about to start training as a soldier.  
I force myself up and wipe my eyes, shaking my head. I move towards The Seam, though I know this will be bad. I find my way through the rubble to Madelyn's old house, biting my cheek to hold in tears. She doesn't know, or does she? Damn it, I just want her back to hold in my arms.  
Rosa wanted to go through the district with me, but how can I mourn the loss of the girl I love when Rosa is standing beside me? I know now that Rosa has loved me for a long time, but held back. She understands it would be cruel to do anything now, with Madelyn in the Capitol's hands, but I know she wants to.  
I stick to the road, after seeing the Meadow full of decomposing bodies. It's not much better on the road even, and no matter where you go you can't escape the smell of festering flesh. The summer's been the hottest for twenty years and it's as dry as a bone. Dry - my mouth feels dry. Even this brings a torrent of images to my mind. Madelyn being dehydrated, denied water, starved.  
At least the district is far from starving now. Madelyn's friend Gale pulled them through until District 13 rescued them. Now, in the clean white living compartments of District 13, with three square meals a day and clean clothing, the people are able to block out the outside world and be happy. Far from what I am.  
I hate myself. I hate myself for running instead of protecting Madelyn, I hate myself for checking out Rosa on occasions, I hate myself for being rescued instead of Madelyn. Without thinking I begin to run, l headed for the Victor's Village, to my home. Running blindly has consequences though, and I slam into something in the town square.  
It's warped and twisted, flames having licked it away, but I recognise it. The gallows. Bad - this is awful. It brings on another flood of memories which I cannot control. Good, kind Madelyn being tortured. Madelyn, who has done so much for me and gotten so little in return. I have played basketball with her love and now dropped the ball.  
Madelyn being drowned to the point of pain then hoisted out for a gulp of air before round two. Madelyn's olive skin being seared away by flames. Whipped, slashed, electrocuted, beaten, mauled... The list is endless. I want to send her my love, from thousands of miles away, let her know she is not alone. But she is and it's hopeless - utterly.  
People talk to me, console me, but only one person can truly help. Haymitch. Because he understands what I'm going through, wishes with all his heart that Madelyn could be here. But he's not rational - he's locked up in a padded room whilst he sobers up. He's going crazy on the outside, me on the inside.  
I'm torn from my thoughts by a familiar mewling. Madelyn's sister Prim's cat, Buttercup, is at my side. He has survived and even looks plump. _Nice. _He's been eating my friend's brains.  
I hear Rosa in my ear, telling me to head back to the Meadow. After grabbing a few things of Madelyn's, I oblige, weary.  
"You okay?" asks Rosa once I'm aboard the hovercraft. I nod, going to wipe the sweat off of my forehead. But Rosa's soft hand gets there first, wiping my head gently. _Rosa.  
Don't make this harder than it already is. _


	2. Chapter 2

"Pretty nasty down there?" asks Rosa, taking her hand away.  
"Yeah. Pretty bad," I reply. I don't want to talk and she realises quickly. We spend the fourty-minute ride back to District 13 in tense silence.  
The outside of District 13 is just as miserable as 12, just birds pecking away at the rubble. Since the Dark Days they have built everything on the inside, adding to what was already a substantial underground facility. After that it was easy for 13's leaders - they pointed their missiles on the Capitol and made a deal: they would play dead if the Capitol left them well alone. With millions of Capitol lives at risk, they had no choice but to accept the deal.  
It's not a normal life (forget about living underground), seeing as everybody is on a strict schedule. Every morning you stick your arm into the wall and it writes your schedule in horrible purple ink. I try to keep busy, to distract myself from thoughts of Madelyn, so I attend to every aspect of my schedule as if the world will end if I don't.  
I get back to my compartment and hang Madelyn's fur jacket up, putting her smooth stone love heart into the chest of drawers. But after a moment of thought I retrieve it, taking it into my hand and keeping it there. One part of Madelyn can be with me, if not the rest.  
I've been so caught up with Madelyn that I'm ten minutes late for a meeting in Command. I race, and get there just before they lock the doors.  
Inside, I find them all clustered around the table, in which is laid a huge screen. I don't really want to see any more war crap, so I go to sit down on one of the chairs behind, but the president pulls me closer. This is urgent. I have braced myself for boredom, so it's entertaining to see Caesar Flickerman's shiny face announcing that he has a very special guest.  
The cameras pull back and I gasp, pushing through the group to get as close to her as possible. There is my Madelyn. I lay a hand on the screen and take her in, amazed.  
Her eyes are clear and bright, as always, no sign of torture. She looks beautiful, healthy, everything I thought she wouldn't be. For some reason, they have spared her. she's even smiling slightly, and though I know it must be an act it makes me smile too. I can't compare this girl to the battered, broken girl who has haunted me wherever I go, in sleep or wake.  
"Madelyn - welcome back!"  
"I think you thought you'd done your last interview with me, Caesar," she replies.  
"I didn't know what to think, if I'm absolutely honest. You'd never have been able to kill Anthone, that's for sure." She nods.  
"My only plan was to make sure that he got out alive. But other people had plans, it seemed."  
"They did indeed. Now, Madelyn, your thoughts on the war?"  
"I want everyone watching, whatever side you're on, to think about what war could mean for our population. We barely scraped through last time and now our numbers are even fewer. Do you really want to kill off mankind, and hope that a decent creature that sees sense will inherit the crappy remains of the Earth? If we don't stop soon, we're goners."  
"So you're calling for a cease-fire?"  
She nods quickly."Now, can I go back? I want to take a try at a card house, and from past experience it's not easy."  
Caesar laughs, clapping his hands together. "Right I think that wraps this up folks, back to regular programming."  
Just like that, they're gone, and I face the others. I miss her already.

I am the Mockingjay, the rebel leader, but playing my part stings. The role was not designed for me, it was made for Madelyn. Maddy sent the arrow into the forcefield, Maddy loved me. But for some reason, after all of the trouble she has caused, they have spared her of torture. Perhaps they will use her as a symbol of war. But then it hits me - has she made a deal to protect me? The Games never ended, we both escaped with our lives. That means that her last wish to keep me alive still stands. Why on earth did she - does she - love me?  
Perhaps she hates me. I'm selfish, after all. Not worthy.


End file.
